On March 5, West Michigan Representatives Vern Ehlers and Pete Hoekstra voted for House Resolution 951, a resolution that condemns Palestinian attacks against Israel, but says nothing about the most recent Israeli attacks against civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights has documented "widespread Israeli attacks on civilians in recent weeks." According to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, over half of the Palestinians killed by Israeli military in the past few weeks were civilians. B'Tselem has also documented that the number of Palestinian civilians killed by Israeli soldiers is much higher than the number of Israelis killed by Palestinians since the beginning of what is called the Second Intifada (2000-2008). Author and independent journalist Eileen Fleming wrote recently, "Apparently the idiots running the asylum in the House of Representatives perceive the 982 Palestinian children who have been killed by Israeli forces since 2000 are card carrying members of Hamas."
House Resolution 951 not only condemns the Palestinian acts of violence, it also states that "public reports have cited the role of Iran and Syria in providing material support and training to those carrying out rocket and other terrorist attacks from Gaza." This type of language fits well into the US government's claim that the US War on Terror is the same campaign the state of Israel is fighting. House Resolution 951 was passed overwhelmingly with 404 votes in favor with the only no vote coming from Rep. Ron Paul.
House Resolution 951 was introduced by Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) and Shelley Berkley (D-NV). In looking at the support from "the Israel Lobby", three of the four have been major recipients on money from organizations that are support the state of Israel. Rep. Garrett has received $24,700 during his career in Congress from NorPAC. The other Republican, Jeb Hensarling, has not been a major recipient of Israel Lobby money, but both Democrats have been major recipients. Rep. Engel from New York has received $327,047 in Pro-Israel lobby money, the third largest sector funding to his career in Congress. The other Democrat introducing Resolution 951 was Shelley Berkley from Nevada. Berkley has received $645,488 from Pro-Israel groups, the second most of any sector since she was elected to Congress in 1989.
